25/05/2022
The Truth About Cheat Meals.
When it comes to dieting the question I seem to get asked a lot as a trainer is “I want to be beach ready so how long should I diet for?”
In this weeks blog I will answer this question for you guys, I will also briefly explain how the diet and calorie restricting process works.
Hope you can stay focus until the end of this blog so the you guys can gain a better understanding on how things work.
Hopefully by the end of this blog you guys can apply the knowledge I have given here to your own diets in order to your dieting experience run smoother so that you are able to achieve your diet goals quickly and be able to start the reverse diet process to a more healthier and more sustainable daily calorie amount.
How long should we diet for ?
The length of time its takes a person male/female to diet down to a low body fat percentage is very subjective from person to person.
The total duration of ones diet normal depends on the following factors, whats is your current body-fat percentage pre- dieting, what is your current activity levels pre- dieting and how much free time do you have to attend the gym in the week.
For example if a man is currently at 20% body-fat and this person wants to reduce his total body- fat level to 10%.
Based on the challenges at hand in order for this person to have a realistic diet plan of reaching a 10% body-fat level he would have to be put on a restrictive calorie weekly diet plan thats at-least 12- 14 weeks long at minimum this not factoring current activity levels or current eating habits.
This individual will need to religiously adhere to a daily calorie restricted diet that has being specifically tailored according to his total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
Thoughtout the cause of the 12/14 weeks his calorie deficit amount each week will have to be assessed by his coach or trainer, and depending on the weekly weight lost or negative weight lost the deficit will have to be tailored accordingly, so that weight lost continues on a weekly basis and all Plateau are broken until target weight loss is achieved.
What is a cheat meal
A cheat meal refers to the temporary relief from a restrictive calorie diet. A cheat meal allows the person who is currently on a diet to to relax and eat a meal that is more preferable and enjoyable regardless of the calorie amount in the chosen meal.
This will a relief for the individual because the meal will be of their choice rather then a well planned out low fat and low carb meal selected by their coach or trainer.
What are the draw backs of cheat meals
Now that we have a better understanding on how the dieting process works I can now answer the question of “how a cheat meal can and will effect the duration of a person diet”
When it comes to dieting and getting your body in shape and at healthy BMI level it all comes down to restricting daily caloric intake and controlling the energy in and energy out dynamic.
The phenomenon of energy in and energy out ratio as it relates to weight loss does not change just because a person feels like they been dieting for 10 weeks and deserve a break to have a cheat meal.
Being in an energy deficit or energy surplus will still have and effect on the body as it relates to weight whether your 8/10 weeks in to your diet.
So from understanding this concept which is thermodynamics we then understand that a cheat meal will set a person back from reach a low body-fat percentage especially if they have a deadline.
Having said this the amount of calories the person consumes in their cheat meal will directly relate to how much of a set back that person will have in terms of days to recover.
The truth about cheat meals
The truth of the matter is this, a cheat meal will set you back a day or two, or even a week depending on how big the cheat meal was.
So for a example someone has been dieting for 10 weeks and gradually their coach has been reducing their calories weekly by 30g and they have been consistently losing weight every week.
They have now reached week 10 of a scheduled 14 weeks diet plan and is currently on 1,750 calories a day.
After the 10th week this individual decides to have a cheat meal that consist of 6,000 calories.
After this cheat meal this person would have put themselves on that specific day at a calorie surplus of 4,250 this will definitely set them back a few days in their diet.
The body will now need a fews days to recover and bounce back from this surplus in order for weight loss to continue.
Along with this heir bodies will now have to re- adjust energy levels as their was a spike in their calorie intake on that specific day .
When the body has to re-adjust a spike in blood glucose level high hunger levels can be triggered in this process and the person can face difficulties resuming or re- adapting calories back into a deficit.
Whats is my out take on cheat meals?
In my opinion cheat meals are not a bad idea and they can help a person to mentally reset from a restrictive diet if done smartly.
So guys please be smart on the the size of your cheats meals and how often you have them.
Happy Dieting
Mylius
